It's a Very Long Story
by you-idjits
Summary: "'This will only take a second.' He taps in some coordinates, pulls the zigzag plotter, and the TARDIS starts screeching. 'Where are we going' 'Open the doors to the swimming pool' he says. She sees a hint of a mischievous grin on his face, as if he's anticipating something exciting." Clara meets River Song, the Doctor's wife. DoctorxRiver.


**A/N: Look who has emerged from the underworld. As usual, sorry about the long hiatus. I'm tempted to keep up some older stories, like Schooled and maybe We'll Laugh About This Someday, but I've been so lazy recently. You guys have been begging for so long... Sorry, again. I've just been in such a Doctor Who mood lately, what with its return and all. Rewatching season 5 and 6, and I even started some classic Who recently - hence all the Brain of Morbius references. God, I love this show. So yeah, enjoy.**

* * *

The Doctor is just pulling the lever to send them to Karn in the 31st century when his inside jacket pocket suddenly burns very hot.

"Doctor? What is it?" Clara asks when he claps his hand to his chest.

"Message on the psychic paper." He pulls the paper from his pocket and flips it open. "Clara… We may have to delay that trip to Karn."

"What? What does it say?"

"This will only take a second." He taps in some coordinates, pulls the zigzag plotter, and the TARDIS starts screeching.

"Where are we going?"

"Open the doors to the swimming pool!" he says. She sees a hint of a mischievous grin on his face, as if he's anticipating something exciting.

"What's going on?" she shouts over the wail of the cloister bells. But she goes anyway, wrenching open door after door to create a direct line from the control room into the swimming pool. This is one of her favorite things to do in her spare time – when the antigravity in the corridors is turned off, the drop from the control room to the pool makes a very nice ten-meter dive.

Clara returns to the front room just in time to see the Doctor pull open the doors and step aside. She herself has just enough time to duck out of the way as a blonde woman in a dress falls through the door, down the corridor, and directly into the pool.

"Are we sideways?" she asks the Doctor. Gravity can get confusing sometimes, in the TARDIS.

He ignores her question and goes over to hallway. "Towels are on the side, sweetie!" he says.

"Who was that?"

The Doctor smiles. "I'll introduce you."

* * *

Ten minutes later, that same woman walks in. Her violet dress is soaked, but she's carrying a cordless hairdryer and blowing out her blonde curls.

"Stop that," the Doctor tells her. "It interferes with my screwdriver."

"You _really_ need to fix that," she says, but she turns it off anyway.

"Have a nice swim?"

"Would have been better with company."

"Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Clara finally says.

"Hello, Clara," that woman says.

"Sorry, do I know you?"

The woman turns to the Doctor, eyes and smile wide. "Is this our first meeting?"

"It would appear so. If you didn't feel the need to jump off of tall buildings so often, then it wouldn't have to be so unceremonious. Clara, this is Doctor River Song. River, you know Clara." He waves his hands absently between them.

"How does she know me?" Clara asks the Doctor.

"I know you in your future, Clara."

"How can that work?" Clara smiles at River and shakes her hand, but keeps her questions pointed at the Doctor.

"I'll explain later," he promises. "Now back to Stormcage with you." He wags his finger at River.

"Oh come now, can't we have even one adventure?"

"Clara and I were just on our way to Karn. It's been a few hundred years for me."

"I remember." River says. "You fought the brain of Morbius there, didn't you?"

"How do you know that?" He takes two long strides over to her, until they're standing face to face.

"I pretended to be a soothsayer that day," says River, "so I could spy on you. Got a bit touchy, you almost getting burned at the stake and all. Back in my college days."

He laughs outright, a rather uncommon occurrence these days. "Figures. But Clara and I won't interfere with that. It's a nice planet, you know."

Clara tries to follow the line of conversation, but finds it almost impossible. "Excuse me- Doctor, who is this?"

"She's my wife," the Doctor says. "Wasn't it obvious?"

"Your-" Clara can't even finish her sentence, since his sent her mind reeling.

"Sorry, I know it's confusing," says River, "but I'll see you again soon."

"Oh?" the Doctor raises an eyebrow. "And when might that be?"

River winks. "Spoilers."

The Doctor shuts up for a few moments to pilot the TARDIS to its next destination. "Give us a moment, Clara. I'll be right with you." He escorts River to the door then, pushing it open for her.

"I won't always be there to catch you from the falling buildings, you know," he says.

"Oh, but you will. You know you love it." She kisses him then, just a quick peck, but he pulls her back for more.

Clara gets the sudden urge to look away, like she did as a little girl when her parents were kissing. But she keeps watching, because she's mystified – she thought she knew the Doctor pretty well by now, and then he springs this. A wife? He never even hinted at the idea.

River waves goodbye to Clara as the doors swing shut.

"Right then, off we go," the Doctor says, prancing back to the console. "Karn, right? The people there are quite amicable, when they're not trying to burn me alive, that is. Or cut out my brain. Or-"

"Doctor!"

He stops, turns to look at her. "Yes, Clara Oswald?"

"You can't just leave me like that. Who is she?"

"It's a very long story." He laughs, shakes his head slightly, and walks towards her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were married?"

"You never asked."

"But isn't that sort of… I don't know, important?"

"River and I are both time travelers, so we don't run into each other in the proper order. I wasn't sure when you two would meet. But she often uses me as a taxi service of sorts, and I should have expected as much. It drives me mad."

"You seemed to rather enjoy yourself."

"Oh, any opportunity to see her is rather nice, but I always feel a little bit naughty." He smiles. This is the best mood in which she's seen him in days.

"You _do _love it."

"I live for the days I see her, but they're becoming few and far between."

"Why is that? If you're a time traveler, can't you see her all you like? You could go traveling together."

"She's in prison for murdering me, which makes it a bit tricky." Once he sees her expression, he adds, "Don't think too much about it."

Clara shakes her head. "This is mad. You and her, the swimming pool, all of it." Then, "Will I see her again?"

"Would you like to?"

"Definitely."

"Oh, I think so. She said it herself, although I wouldn't put it past her to lie."

"But I've been with you for quite some time now, and we've never run into her."

"Well, you haven't. You're usually asleep."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

He holds her gaze for a moment, then turns to the console. "Anyway, to Karn we go! I'd prefer arriving after the 73th century, actually; we wouldn't want to run into any Time Lords there. Do you mind if we go later?"

"I'm up for any sort of adventure," says Clara.

"That's my girl." So the Doctor flips his switches and twists his dials, and away they go.


End file.
